Building boom at Barnstable Municipal Airport

Several improvement projects at Barnstable Municipal Airport are either underway or on the drawing board, according to airport officials.

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By PATRICK CASSIDY

capecodtimes.com

By PATRICK CASSIDY

Posted Mar. 4, 2014 at 2:00 AM
Updated Mar 4, 2014 at 6:32 AM

By PATRICK CASSIDY

Posted Mar. 4, 2014 at 2:00 AM
Updated Mar 4, 2014 at 6:32 AM

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HYANNIS — Several improvement projects at Barnstable Municipal Airport are either underway or on the drawing board, according to airport officials.

Work on a project to move a taxiway has already started and the contractor is expected to begin tearing up the existing taxiway today, airport Manager Roland "Bud" Breault said Monday.

The taxiway, which is one of five used by aircraft to get around the airfield, is being moved 50 feet so that it is a safer distance from a parallel runway, Breault said.

The $6 million project includes the reconstruction of the aircraft parking apron next to the passenger terminal and the construction of a central de-icing pad near the air traffic control tower, he said.

The pad will replace three de-icing pads scattered around the airfield and make it easier to collect used fluids, which will be drained directly into the town's sewer system.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division have committed to paying almost 98 percent of the project's cost, Breault said.

The project being developed by the Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative to put a solar energy array at the airport should start soon, Breault said. But it's still unclear whether it will be done in time to meet a key deadline for state solar energy incentives in June.

The array is among a group of cooperative projects totaling about 20 megawatts that were put on hold after Boston-based Broadway Electrical Co. Inc. — the company contracted to do the work — confirmed in January it was going out of business.

Negotiations to officially transfer the cooperative projects from Broadway to G&S Solar Installers LLC of New York and Massachusetts and RNK Capital LLC, a New York-based private investment firm, are still ongoing, cooperative consultant Liz Argo said.

Although the physical construction could start anytime, the final contract negotiations have not been settled, she said.

The airport project faced the additional hurdle of FAA approval, including concerns over the possibility of glare affecting air traffic controllers and pilots.

Breault said the necessary analysis was done and, after changing several panel locations, it appears the project will be cleared by the FAA.

If the project does go forward it is expected to cut the airport's electricity costs by 17 percent and provide an additional $7 million in revenue over the next 20 years, Breault said.

The state is also currently funding design work for a 60,000 gallon, above-ground jet fuel storage center, or fuel farm, which will replace a 20-year-old underground tank with a third of the capacity, Breault said.

The state would pay 80 percent of the cost, which is expected to be between $600,000 and $1.2 million depending on the size of the farm, he said.

The hope is that the project would be done by the end of this year but no later than the end of 2015 depending on when the funding is available, he said.

His goal is to consolidate all of the fuel tanks in three areas around the airport into one location eventually, Breault said.

The state has also committed to paying for a $5 million project to reconstruct the airport's east ramp and another taxiway, he said.

In addition to the projects spearheaded by the airport and the cooperative, NStar is expected to begin installation of a new high-capacity electric cable through its easement on airport property. The line would connect the electric distribution company's substation on Mary Dunn Road to the distribution system on the other side of the airport.

"We are working with the Barnstable Airport and the FAA on the planning of this project," NStar spokeswoman Rhiannon D'Angelo wrote in an email. "These upgrades will provide greater distribution capacity and reliability for our customers."

Airport officials hope to minimize the impact of all of this work by having it done during the offseason when possible, Breault said.

"There's a couple of times when we probably have to shut down each of our runways for a short time," he said.